David and Lewis, now well into their sixties, sat on the front lanai of the beachside condo that was currently serving as Red Shield headquarters, enjoying the outdoors before the inevitable afternoon heat drove them inside. Neither looked away from their respective laptops when they heard the van pull up.
The team walked up the driveway. Kai, who had been named the leader of the operation, walked in front of everyone else, wearing a green and white blood spattered Hawaiian shirt, his Colt M1911 tucked into his denim shorts. Now in his late forties, his hair was streaked with gray, but his face still bore the stubbornly determined expression it always had.
Kai was closely followed by David III, known as Dave, who was in his late twenties by then, and had inherited his mother's face though with his father's somewhat emaciated build and commanding voice.
Diva's twins, Ruka and Akahana, walked up the driveway side by side, talking quietly amongst themselves. They both wore full length, double-breasted vinyl trench coats that were identical save their color, which, as a matter of tradition, matched the color of their eyes, only a few shades darker so as to avoid drawing unnecessary attention that would come with wearing bright red or bright blue. Over their coats, they both wore black leather belts, from which their swords hung, Aka's at her waist and Ruka's on her back, both scabbards decorated with enamel flowers, Aka's in red and Ruka's in blue, as a reference to their names. Like their aunt, they both preferred to fight with katana, though theirs did not have the blood dispersing modifications. Their blood in itself was not toxic to the chiropterans they fought, since both they and their enemies shared blood with Diva. However, because of their extraordinary strength, speed, agility and training, they were still a force to be reckoned with, and only slightly less lethal than Saya.
Other than Aka's burgundy-brown eyes, they both looked almost exactly as their mother had during the last months of her life – black hair, fair skin and Riku's face. For this reason, the twins' appearances were still somewhat jarring to Saya, the first time she saw the girls after regaining her memories, she instantly reached her arm out towards Haji, as a silent signal that she required her sword. She then immediately came to her senses and begged the girls for their forgiveness.
Behind the girls walked Joel the seventh, a man in his early twenties that looked much like his father and had recently dropped out of college and joined the team, believing that he should take a more active role in the war than his ancestors. Ironically, though he was destined to lead the Red Shield one day, there was no question as to his being considered the newbie, and thus accorded little respect, though not for lack of trying.
Saya and Haji lagged behind, looking the same as they had thirty years earlier, other than Saya's hair, which she had decided to try leaving at its natural knee-length, though she did have Haji trim the front into her characteristic bangs. She wore the rest in a bun, held together by what appeared to be Koa wood hair sticks, each with a plastic red flower on one end. Aka and Ruka had bought them for her the previous day.
The face of Nathan Mahler appeared in the kitchen window, directly behind the couch where Lewis and the elder David sat. David opened his mouth to speak, but Nathan beat him to it.
"Have a good hunt?" Nathan asked cheerfully.
No one bothered to answer him.
The girls removed their swords and shrugged off their coats.
"These things are awful in this humidity," Aka groaned.
"Yeah, but they do cut down on the blood stains," Ruka added.
Kai immediately approached Lewis and the elder David.
"The intel was correct. We were able to infiltrate the base and intercept the cargo while they were transferring it from one plane to the other. We were able to kill six out of eight of them right off the bat, but three of them got loose, two of the damn things got all the way into downtown Honolulu. Saya and Haji took care of it though."
"Saya," said the elder David, "was there any civilian contact between chiropterans and civilians?"
"I don't think so, it was so early in the morning, no one was around."
"Were you able to find out what their origin was?" Lewis asked Kai.
"Yeah. Somewhere called, um, Kahulaw? I don't know how you're supposed to say it."
"You mean Kaho'olawe?" Lewis chuckled.
"Interesting," David said with a nod, "the entire island of Kaho'olawe was used as a firing range after World War II, it is supposed to be uninhabited now – an excellent location for a secret research facility."
Joel felt like he had to add his two cents. "I guess now its safe to say that the US is still actively pursuing the use of chiropterans as a weapon."
"No shit!" exclaimed Aka, playfully smacking him on the back of the head, "Once the Americans acquire a powerful weapon, they never give it up, no matter how dangerous it is for the world as a whole."
"Hey, give him a break," Dave intervened as he whipped out a cigarette, "we'll all be working for his ass one day."
Ruka immediately flicked the cigarette out of Dave's hand with such force that it most likely landed a quarter mile away. "We need you to be risking your life fighting monsters, not pissing it away with those things! You may be a David, but you're not immortal."
Nathan giggled. "Not yet anyway," he said in a voice only perceptible by the non-humans in the party. Ruka shot him a look that was a combination of questioning glance and threatening glare. "Breakfast in twenty, kay," Nathan added at his normal volume.
"You wanna go for a swim before breakfast?" Aka asked the party.
"I'm in!" Ruka said enthusiastically before turning to Joel and Dave, "what about you boys?"
"Sure," they answered indifferently and began ambling after the girls, who had already started jogging towards the beach.
Saya tugged on Haji's sleeve. "How is your wound?"
"I am alright," he said, with all his usual serenity.
"Aww Haji! Did you get impaled again?" Nathan butted in, "that really does seem to be your area of expertise as a chevalier."
Haji ignored him.
"This is Haji," Nathan narrated to an imaginary audience, "he plays the cello, never changes his clothes and gets impaled at least twice a week because he turns himself into a not-human shield for his not-his-girlfriend!"
Saya turned to Haji, speaking in a hushed tone. "I still don't quite get why he's here. Is he always this obnoxious?"
"I most certainly am!" Nathan declared. Haji glanced at Saya, implying his agreement with Nathan on the subject.
"Seriously though," Nathan continued, "you should go get something to drink, it'll help you recover faster. After all, can't take care of her if you don't take care of yourself."
"He's right," Saya conceded.
"I always am," Nathan said in a tone that implied it was the most obvious thing in the world, "the garage fridge is fully stocked, now off you go," he said, lightly patting Haji on the back.
"Saya?"
"Yes Haji, go."
"Splendid!" Nathan exclaimed, "c'mon Saya, you can help me with breakfast."
Saya nodded as Haji left the room.
Nathan sighed. "Honestly, that man is passive-aggressive, only with out the aggressive."